A Broken Life
by lost4life318
Summary: With another eclipse coming more people will manifest their powers, and a ruthless Sylar goes out in search of them, but finds more than he planned for, and perhaps even a chance at love. This is my first attempt at a serial story, so reviews are welcome!
1. Introductions

_This is my own potential plot for the series of Heroes. I love the character of Sylar, and I really wish they would give him a romantic interest again, although I really didn't like either of the two previous ones that much. This is my take on what I think would be a cool storyline to go with for Sylar, but obviously I'm not a professional writer. Still, it is my first attempt at a serial, so revisions and reviews are helpful._

_Cast of Characters (or who I imagine when I write them)_

_Sylar- Zach Quinto (duh!)_

_Bryce-Bradley Cooper_

_Josiane-undecided_

The morning sunlight came filtering in through the blinds illuminating the two people curled against each other, their naked bodies half covered by the pristine white sheets. On the right side of the bed, facing the window, where she always slept, the woman's tawdry brown hair still looked a mess after their late night seduction. The man next to her, her husband, had just gotten home from a business trip last night after two weeks away and she had been sure to make him glad to be home.

Finally she cracked her eyelid as the sun's brightness made it impossible to sleep any longer. She looked over her husband's shoulder and saw the clock read 8:34AM. It was a Friday, but after his long business trip, Bryce didn't have to go into today and with weekends off he was free to sleep in until she got home tonight. Rolling her eyes at the thought that he probably would, she rolled over with a groan and strolled naked into the bathroom. She had to be at work by 9:30AM and it was at least a 20 minute drive, maybe more on a Friday.

Not bothering to shut the door behind her, she heard his low groan followed by the words, "You up?"

She smiled, "Yeah, silly, some of us still have to go into work today." She looked in the mirror and inwardly lamented the state of her hair, trying to run her fingers through it before she hopped in the shower.

"Well," he said in a mock defensive tone, still curled on the bed, "Some of us had to work double what we usually would for two weeks in order to bring home bacon for our trophy wives."

Her head popped out from behind the doorframe and she looked at him, "Am I really a trophy wife?" she asked playfully.

His eyes opened at the inquiry and he smiled at her, "Oh yes, I'm afraid so," he told her.

"Hmm…" she furrowed her brow, "That's disappointing. Here I was thinking you married me for my brains."

He chuckled from the bed as she grabbed her robe from behind the door and put it on.

"Your brains were part of it, I will admit, amongst… other things…." His voice trailed off suggestively.

She walked over to the bed quickly and grabbed a pillow to hit him with. He caught it easily and pulled it towards him, causing her to topple over on top of him, laughing. He rolled her over so that she was underneath him and smiled. "Where's my good morning kiss?" he asked.

"It's waiting for you after you've brushed your teeth and done something about that morning breath," she teased.

He wrapped his arms tightly around her, "I guess I'll just have to settle for a good morning hug then, huh?" he asked, burying his face in her shoulder as he spoke.

"Yep," she told him, still laughing, but she stopped when she felt his lips on her neck.

"I guess this could count as a good morning kiss," he murmured in a husky tone against her skin.

She looked at the clock again, hoping somehow time might have stopped so she could take this moment slow, 8:45AM. Dammit, there was no time!

"Sorry love," she kicked him playfully and reluctantly rolled out from under him, "I have to take my shower now or I'll never get to work on time." Her hands tightened the robe's cord around her waist as she headed back into the bathroom.

Bryce let his head fall back against a pillow dramatically and put both hands behind it as he stared up at the ceiling. "Why don't you just tell your boss you're sick and take the weekend off early?" he suggested hopefully.

"Because," she told him from behind the door which she left cracked while she turned on the shower, "Your father would know the real reason behind it, or do you think he wouldn't remember that you just got home from your trip last night?"

"That man is so desperate for a grandchild he wouldn't even care," Bryce called to her over the noise of the shower, "He'd probably be glad for us practicing."

She shed the robe and stepped inside, "Did you tell your dad we're trying?" she asked loudly.

"Nope," he called back and unbeknownst to her, rolled out of bed to come in the bathroom too.

She didn't hear him as she lathered up her hair with shampoo and rinsed it out. Meanwhile on the other side of the curtain Bryce used the bathroom and when he was done, instead of flushing, he grinned as he thought of something.

"Hey!" he yelled, popping his head inside the shower with her. She screamed and the bar of soap she had been holding flew out of her hand and she clutched her hands to her chest, feeling her heart as he laughed.

"Sorry, I couldn't resist," he said.

"I should slap you right now," she warned him, bending over to pick up the soap. His eyes followed her moves hungrily.

"Yes, you could, but then you wouldn't get the continuation of that good morning kiss," he taunted her and pulled the curtain aside enough to step in after her.

"I'll never get to work on time at this rate," she warned him, but her smile betrayed her.

His hands tangled themselves in her sudsy hair and massaged her scalp, "Well, we're saving time this way," he suggested, and pulled her close to him for that kiss.

It was too much to pull away from this time, and she relented and leaned into him, relishing the feel of his warm chest against her own as his lips tangled with hers. "Okay," she agreed when he pulled away, feeling a little disoriented, "But you have to be the one to explain things to your father when he finds out."

"Deal," he said instantly, and wrapped his arms around her slippery body, "Now where were we?"

It took 40 minutes for them to finish their shower and eat a rushed breakfast before getting on the road. Bryce had a few things to do in his office and despite Josi's protests that he should stay home even without her, he donned his suit and climbed in the mini-suburban after her. As the garage door swung open and she pulled out of the driveway he tucked a stray tuft of hair behind her ear.

"You look beautiful," he told her, admiring how the sun shone on her hair and brought out the red in it. He couldn't see her eyes from behind those ridiculously huge sunglasses she insisted on wearing as she looked at him with an embarrassed smile, but he knew they would be shining that brilliant green at him if he could see them.

Once she pulled onto the highway it was a ten minute stretch and he reached over to hold her hand affectionately. He stared out the window deep in thought as she concentrated on the road, and his thoughts weren't interrupted until five minutes in when she asked him, "Do you think your father suspects that we're trying?"

He was taken aback by the question, and looked over at her, "That's the second time you asked about him knowing. Is there something wrong if he did?"

"No, no," she said quickly, "It's just that… well, this is kind of a private thing between us, and since we've been trying for a few months now with no luck, I just don't want to feel like someone else is looking at me with some sense of expectation."

"Hold on, do you think I look at you like that?"

"No!" she told him hurriedly, clearly agitated that he could think so, "It's just that, well, you know how your father is. If it looked like there might be problems with us conceiving, I just would like to prolong him knowing about it for as long as possible. That's really the last thing I would want him trying to talk to me about at work."

"Josi," her husband sounded concerned, "I don't think he knows, and even if he does, it's none of his business until we choose to make it his business, okay?"

"Yeah," she replied, distracted now with taking the correct exit and merging.

A few moments passed without them speaking as she pulled into the right lane and glanced over at him.

"There's nothing wrong with you if we can't you know."

Her hands clenched the steering wheel a bit tighter, "You don't know that."

"Yes, I do," he said, shifting in his seat so he could lean closer to her, "If there is a problem with why we're not pregnant yet, I don't want either of us to feel like someone is to blame."

The clicking of the signal being turned on was the only sound in the car for a minute.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, fine," she told him, checking the oncoming traffic before she turned on the proper street leading to the office.

Bryce Howitzer's family came from old money. His grandfather's grandfather had built a company from the ground up in the 1870s and it had grown into the huge monstrous building whose parking garage she turned into now. The 76 story colossus was one of the busiest offices in Los Angeles, but Bryce had been born into this family, and frankly, he was good at it. The knack for reading people and somehow knowing who to trust and who not to trust proved that he had been bred well for this life. They had met through a group of mutual friends a few years ago at a bar and he first bought her a drink. He'd liked her smile and the way her purple dress had showed off her flawless figure, and she'd liked his turquoise coloured eyes and the fact that he made her laugh.

They'd been married for 2 years now, and only started trying to get pregnant six months ago. Before getting married Bryce had referred her to his father as a potential secretary and from that she got a substantial pay increase and he got to see her on a daily basis. It had been a whirlwind romance, they ate lunch together every day in one of the vacant boardrooms and he had proposed after 10 months. A lavish beach ceremony in Malibu had followed and they settled comfortably in a two-story ranch his father bought for them in Santa Monica. Bryce had two sisters, but both of them were still in college and he had always been the favourite.

Josiane had come from a standard home. She grew up in a suburban household near San Diego with a physician for a father and a teacher for a mother. She had one older brother, Tom, who was already married with a daughter and #2 on the way. Josi had always wanted kids, it was in her nature to mother people, Bryce included, but he was equally excited about having a baby. They hadn't done too much yet other than going off the birth control. Their friends had told them it was normal for a woman to have some time before she could get pregnant with waiting for all the hormones to flush out of her system. Still, six months was a long time….

They pulled into one of the executive parking spaces and she reached for the door handle before he stopped her.

"Josi."

She turned to him, her eyes were hidden behind the sunglasses, but he needed to see them to know what was going on inside her head. He pulled them away from her face and saw the look she gave him, and knew they were in trouble.

"Listen, baby," he started, and ran his hand nervously through his tousled dirty blond hair. "I know this can be a lot to deal with right now, but I think we're going to be fine, okay? Plenty of people have to try for awhile before it happens for them, so I still think we're in the norm here."

He reached over her and pulled shut the already half open door. "I love you Josi, and no matter if we have 10 kids or no kids, I will still want to be with you."

She smiled at that, and he pulled her face closer to his, "You are perfect," he whispered in her ear as he softly kissed her cheek, "Don't ever think differently." He pressed his forehead against her own and waited for her to smile again.

"I'm sorry I'm being so weird about this," she apologized.

"Don't be, it's understandable," he told her comfortingly, and kissed her nose before pulling away. They sat there for a second before he remembered something he meant to do and jumped out of the car.

Before she could even register that he had gone he was at her door and opened it for her, "After you, my dear," he invited her with a sweep of his hand.

She laughed despite herself and hopped down, reaching under the seat to grab her purse before kissing him in thanks. He shut the door as he pulled her closer and heard the beep as she pressed the lock mechanism on the car remote. He smiled against her lips.

Her hands wove into his hair and mussed it up some more before she pulled away breathless. "Whew, okay, let's save that for more practice tonight, shall we?" she suggested, and he barked out a laugh as his arm found its way around her waist and they walked towards the elevator together. A quick glance at her watch told her the time was 10:05AM, so she was only 35 minutes late. Given that she was coming in on the arm of the chief executive's son, she hoped that would be enough to spare her the nasty looks of most people in the building, but overall, she thought considering the circumstances they had done pretty well with themselves._ Not bad_, she told herself, _Not bad at all._

She tried to put out of her mind the uncertainties of the future and instead concentrate on what she had to do today, and on the fact that she wanted to make sure she was not in the room when Bryce tried to invent an excuse to his father for why she was late. More importantly though, she was looking forward to tonight where they could finally be alone together to with nowhere else to be the next morning. Maybe a relaxing weekend at home could be what they both needed to get their minds off of the weighty question of fertility right now. As they took the elevator up, she inwardly made an inventory of what they had in the kitchen to make for dinner tonight. Maybe they could go up on the upstairs patio and watch that eclipse tomorrow. Anything to make her stop thinking about babies and pregnancies, for now at least.


	2. Sylar's Plan

Sylar's mind was in a haze. He was dreaming, he knew that much for sure, but it was all the more disorienting because he knew he was dreaming. He knew this wasn't real, but it felt so strange to be aware of it all the same.

He was standing on a lone stretch of road, the black asphalt undulating amongst the rolling desert hills in front of him and interweaving between the cliffs behind him. Running parallel to the road was a drop-off which cascaded downwards to the sea below where the waves crashed against the cliff walls with a roar, voicing their demand for attention to their strength.

The smell of salt was in the air, he could even taste it on his tongue without opening his mouth. It reminded him of something, some long last memory perhaps. A time in his childhood where he was still loved and cared for by his real parents. A time which, regardless of when it was, had long since passed now.

On the same wind that brought the ocean breeze though he smelled something else though, something foreign and fetid. He creased his face in disgust at the smell, and looked around him to find its source. That was when he heard the whimpering. He tuned his ears to listen for it; he had found another victim with enhanced hearing a month ago and been glad to take it back again. After all, it was merely bestowed on someone too unworthy to use it to their full advantage. What would a pizza delivery boy know what to do with such a gift?

He followed the sound of the whimpering, it was faint even to his ears, but he walked down the road, listening for it until he came to a place where the tarmac dipped down into a gulley. Ahead was a bridge, and impatient, he jogged towards it, thinking that he wished this dream would end or he would find someone with the ability for flight soon.

As he came up on the bridge, the whole scene seemed almost surreal to him. The darkening sky was blood red, and streaked across it were dark clouds looking ominously down, but what did he have to fear from them? He approached the railing and heard the whimpering again, much louder this time, as well as the beating of a heart. It was distant, weak and unstable. That was when he looked over the edge of the bridge down into a ravine and saw it.

Heaps upon heaps of bodies lay strewn across each other in numbers beyond what he could count. Many decaying and many freshly killed, he saw what seemed like a sea of people, layer upon layer on top of each other, filling the ravine. When he looked on the other side, he could see where the pile of bodies sloped downwards and the currents from the sea came lapping up the sand to pull them in. Some had clearly already been claimed by the water, but eventually he supposed all of them would be. That's why this ravine was here, wasn't it? And that was the reasoning behind whoever picked this place to dump the bodies, wasn't it?

He looked down haphazardly at all these people, men, women and children of various and sundry ages all piled on top of each other. There was nothing he could do for them, clearly most were dead, although now that he listened for it he could hear the sound of a few other frail heartbeats, but what could he do for them? Why should he help them anyways? Wasn't this world survival of the fittest? They had been deemed to be unfit by somebody and it was clear that somebody was right, because they had triumphed over all these masses.

He turned to look down the road at the setting sun and the brilliancy of its glare was blinding. It seemed to grow brighter and brighter until he felt tears come to his eyes. The heat of it felt like it was scorching him, but of course his body healed itself again immediately. He couldn't understand what was happening, and that frustrated him, but as the light grew brighter and brighter, he stared towards it in defiance, as if by looking directly at it he could come to comprehend the meaning of it. But finally the light seemed to pause in its growing for a fraction of a moment, nothing else was visible around him except for it, and then it exploded in a flash.

*****

He awoke suddenly, his eyes opening and he saw clearly now that what he had known before was true. It was all a dream.

Annoyed, he sat up in bed and scratched the back of his head. He was still unused to this new power he had acquired of dreaming the future. It was such a fickle ability, because he never knew how near or how far in the future he was seeing. It also provided no clue as to who those people were. He had recognized no faces in the masses upon masses of bodies, but was he supposed to? Or were they all more nameless, faceless people like the ones he hunted down every day?

That reminded him, and he picked up the list of people and addresses he had sitting on the nightstand. Danko and his underlings had made the mistake of compiling a list, and even though no one had showed it to him, it wasn't nearly as hard to get to as they would like to think.

Row upon row of people with their DNA listing them as capable of having a power. Some had already manifested, and some were simply waiting to be discovered. That part excited him, the thrill of the chase, of the unknown. He had picked through the names of those with recorded abilities and chosen the ones he thought worthy of his time, but then from the list of likely people he had grabbed three names, just to spice things up a bit. Those ones he had picked whose abilities had been documented could wait; Denko was already on the prowl, picking them up one by one. Who would be able to stop him if he wanted to break in and steal them anyways? Denko had all but made a pact with him in exchange for his help in looking like the president's head boy.

Sylar smiled at that. What a fool that man was, to think that he could compete with Sylar, the greatest villain to ever live. He had mastered himself, he was perfectly in control of his emotions, he knew what he wanted, and right not what he wanted was something spontaneous. An ability just discovered by a person who had not come to fully understand or enjoy it, and thus would be incapable of missing it. He glanced outside to see the position of the sun in the sky. With the eclipse tomorrow, there was no telling what these people might discover about themselves come morning, and he intended to be there to find out.


	3. The Eclipse

_Okay, I know they haven't interacted yet, but I'm just trying to set up the basics before they finally meet and the drama can begin! If you want to skip the preliminaries and get to the initial conflict skip ahead to chapter 5. I'm swamped with work now that graduation is so close and I'm trying to juggle everything at once right now._

That night Bryce and Josi came home around 6:00PM after negotiating with the traffic and Bryce immediately set to work conjuring something in the kitchen while Josi ran upstairs to grab laundry. They settled in for a restful evening and fell asleep watching a movie downstairs. Around 2:00AM when Bryce woke up her gathered his wife in his arms and stumbled clumsily upstairs where he lay her down on her side before climbing in after her.

The next morning was just as uneventful. The ate breakfast and napped in the backyard hammock together until noon when they had lunch and checked the news for the time of that eclipse tonight. After lunch they went out for a walk together in the park three blocks down and checked out a few yard sales on their way. Around 4:30PM Bryce looked at his watch and said they should be getting back so he could fire up the grill before tonight. The eclipse wasn't set until 6:30PM but Bryce was serious about his cooking.

By the time they got back home and he had fired up the grill it was 4:30PM. Bryce ran down to the basement freezer to find some of the meat they kept frozen down there while Josi cut up the lettuce and tomatoes for the burgers. For some background noise while Bryce was outside she turned on the small television they kept in the kitchen. Some old Seinfeld episode was running its last five minutes before the news. She threw away the discards of the vegetables just as the familiar tune announcing the evening weather report came on. Los Angeles was due for sun, sun, and more sun from now until indefinitely. Why was she not surprised.

A couple of traffic incidents were covered out on the 110, then the mysterious murder of some grocery store manager up in Oregon was mentioned briefly before they got onto their main story of the night.

"_A few months ago we brought you breaking news of the unmerited government roundup of select individuals without warrant or trial and imprisoning them against their will. Tonight we have new information on this story."_

Josi set down the knife she was holding and turned it up. She and Bryce had both been listening a few months ago when they first saw the footage and were stunned that something like that could still happen in today's day and age, especially in America. Just as the news anchor started to speak again he slid open the glass door to the deck with a plate of burgers in his hand, "Who's hungry?" he asked.

"Shhh!' she admonished him, her eyes glued to the screen.

Intrigued, he set the plate down on the table and came over to the counter where she was hunched over for a closer look at the screen.

"What's going on-?"

"SHH!" she said again, this time more vehemently.

_We have received news that this operation has not been abandoned as was previously assumed. In fact, it would appear as though large numbers of people are being abducted from their homes for having what can only be described as 'special' abilities. While it is unknown precisely what these abilities are, authorities who could be persuaded to speak to us off the record warned that they can be armed and dangerous, and the government's policy of containing them is in the best interest of public safety. Now on to more local news…"_

"Special abilities? What the hell does that mean?" Bryce wondered aloud, "And how does that justify locking them up without even giving them a trial?"

Josi shook her head, "Who knows? This world is crazy these days."

Bryce grabbed the hamburger buns from on top of the fridge and Josi set the lettuce and tomatoes on a plate.

"You wanna eat on the upstairs patio?" Bryce asked her while grabbing the mustard and ketchup from inside the fridge.

"Yeah, that sounds good," she said, and ripped a few paper towels off the roll to use as napkins.

They made their way upstairs to the deck attached to the back of the house adjoining with the guest room. They sat on the glider kept up there and Josi cuddled into Bryce's chest as they ate in comfortable silence.

"What are you thinking about?" he asked her after finishing his second burger.

"Baby names," she answered.

He started for a minute and she laughed, "No, I'm not, I would have told you before now if I was. But I just figured it's a good thing to think about beforehand."

He relaxed at that, "So which ones were you thinking of?"

She stretched luxuriously out, extending her legs far enough to prop them on the glider's arm rest. "I like Lexie for a girl."

"Mmmhmm," he said, leaning his face into her hair and inhaling the smell.

"And for a boy I'm not sure, I'm thinking we should continue the Bryce thing, don't you think?"

He kissed her head, "I'm not that committed to the idea of having a Bryce the Third running around here, but if that's what you want I'm open to it."

She shifted so that she was lying on her back with her head in his lap, looking up at him to see his face. "Well, what names do you like?"

"Well…" his voice trailed off, "I've always liked boy names like Archibald and Algernon, and for girls I thought possibly Emmylou or Wilma."

Her stunned look was too much for him to keep up the act and he broke down laughing as she sighed with relief.

"You should have seen your face," he told her, kissing her forehead as he wipes tears out of his eyes. She swatted his arm and laughed too after a minute, then grabbed his wrist and looked at his watch. 5:55PM.

The sky was already darkening, but it seemed as if in those next five minutes it darkened considerably faster than it had been before. It was a strange and beautiful thing as they watched the two bright orbs come together as if drawn by magic. Everything around them seemed to suddenly stop. The crickets in the yard went silent and the birds in the trees stopped singing, as if they too were transfixed by the phenomena they were witnessing. The sky darkened more and more until the orbs finally met and it became almost black. It was impossible to describe the sensation when the eclipse occurred though. The air seemed to crackle with electricity and they both felt all their hairs stand on end. Josi felt her muscles tighten instinctively as if she sensed danger but she had no idea from what. The majesty of the moment though was too great, she felt she had to look away, and closed her eyes but even then she could still see it, as if the image had engraved itself on the back of her eyelids permanently.

Even though it lasted only a few minutes, it felt like hours, and when the orbs split again she looked up at Bryce's face and could tell that he had felt the same thing too.

"Whoa," was all he said, "That was weird."

She said nothing, she was still reeling from the experience.

"You okay?" he asked, and she made herself stand to her feet.

"Of course," she told him, trying to act like she felt better than she did. "That was just weird, is all." She picked up the plates and the dirty napkins to take downstairs, maybe if she just got a drink of water this weird vertigo would wear off.

She was at the top of the stairs when she heard Bryce get up and start bringing the condiments down with him. By the time she was in the kitchen scraping the leftovers in the trash he had joined her, his eyes holding a funny, half-glazed look.

"You know, I think I'm gonna go lie down," he said, and put one hand on the counter as if trying to keep his balance.

"Are you okay?" she asked, concerned. Even though she was feeling a bit off colour, she figured she could make it through the rest of the night alright.

"Yeah, I'm fine, just a little woozy. Man that eclipse was something else wasn't it?" his face contorted almost in pain at the words.

"Bryce! What's wrong?" she asked him, alarmed now that his symptoms were clearly worse than her own.

"Nothing, nothing, I just got a splitting headache out of nowhere," he told her, smoothing her hair and pulling her head to his chest, "Nothing to be worried about."

She wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tight. Even now the effects of the vertigo were beginning to wear off for her, why wasn't the same thing happening for him? "I think a nap may be what's best," she agreed with him, "Why don't you go on up and take some Tylenol? I'll clean things up down here and come check on you in a little bit?"

He nodded absently, but she could tell it was requiring a great effort on his part as he made his way back up the stairs, gripping the railing and the wall the whole way.

The kitchen didn't need much but whenever Josi was worried about something cleaning seemed to help her clear her mind so instead of running the dishwasher she did the few dishes they had dirtied by hand and then pulled out a towel and dried them before putting them away. She swept the floor and wiped down the table and counters, then the stove top as well. She looked at the clock and saw 6:45PM looking back at her, she should let him get a little more rest. The fridge needed cleaning out, so she went through and found some cheese in the back that had gone bad two weeks ago as well as some rotten fruit stowed away in one of the crispers down at the bottom.

When she was done cleaning out the fridge she did the freezer as well, still looking for an outlet to clean and get her mind off worrying about Bryce. Once 7:30PPM rolled around she tiptoed upstairs to see him strewn sideways across the bed, he hadn't even bother to change or take off his shoes. Quickly, she rolled him over on his back and pulled off his sneakers for him before covering him with the blanket. She shut the blinds to keep the sunlight from bothering him but a quick glance showed that he was clearly not waking up anytime soon.

Still concerned, but satisfied that he was at least breathing, she mussed his hair and kissed his forehead before heading back downstairs to tidy up. It was still early for her to go to bed, so she turned the living room TV on and tried to catch another news story about those people being rounded up by the government. It still seemed to be a major story playing on every news channel, so over and over again she watched that same clip of the chained people in orange jumpsuits being led onto a plane. It was appalling, and the more she watched, the more it troubled her what they said about people with 'special abilities.' What did that even mean?

Finally the night grew later and her eyelids grew heavier. She knew she should go upstairs to Bryce, but she was so tired all of the sudden and the cashmere blanket they had gotten as a wedding present was sitting so conveniently on the couch as if inviting her not to leave, so she pulled it over herself and fell asleep, the last image in her mind being those people in jumpsuits.

*****

Bryce had no trouble falling asleep the minute his face hit the bed. He hadn't taken the time to even pop a Tylenol, so profuse was his headache and the desire to sleep it off as quickly as he could. In sleep his dreams were vague and blurry, but he thought at some point he remember small soft hands moving him around and warm lips on his forehead, but those were only flashes in a long oblivion of shapeless imaginings. It was a restful sleep to be sure, in fact it was probably the deepest sleep he had ever experienced, so when he woke up at 9:00AM the next day and realized he'd slept for over twelve hours he was alarmed.

He looked next to him and saw the empty space in the bed. He groaned and rubbed his eyes with the palm of his hand, did she think he had gone comatose and given up on him?

At least he felt more rested and refreshed than he had in months. Almost bouncing out of bed he made his way to the bathroom and splashed his face with water. It felt good especially after the heat he had felt burning through him last night but hadn't told Josi about. He hadn't wanted her worrying, and looking back now he felt he had been right to do so. It looked like it was only an overnight bug.

With the newfound energy he sprang down the stairs to find her still asleep on the couch, the TV on and Sunday morning news predicting temperatures in the upper 90's.

Quietly, he stole into the kitchen and looked in the fridge for what he could make to surprise her. A full carton of eggs was sitting from where she had gone shopping earlier in the week and he found waffle mix in one of the cabinets. Being especially careful not to make noise as he retrieved the waffle maker from one of the lower cabinets, he set to work making breakfast for the two of them.

No sooner had he set on the coffee to boil though than she came sauntering in, looking surprised to see him so alert after last night.

"How'd you sleep?" she asked before kissing him on her way to the fridge for apple juice.

"Great," he told her, "Looks like some overnight fever or something."

After pouring her glass she put the juice back in the fridge and leaned against the door after shutting it. "So what do you think that was last night?" she asked.

The buzzer on the waffle maker went off and he rushed to save them before they burned. "I'm not sure," he said, using a fork to pry them free and setting them on a plate which he motioned to her to take, "Probably some weird psychological effects from witnessing a divine moment in the cosmos." This last sentence he said with a joking attitude, but she looked at him seriously.

He noticed her stare and shrugged, "I have no idea," he admitted, "But it's over now, so let's just enjoy the last day of our weekend, okay?"

She seemed to inwardly deliberate over whether or not she should let this go, but then decided to give in and eat her waffles.

"Oh, hold on one second," he told her, and eagerly reached for the pan of eggs still sitting on the stove. In his haste to grab them his hand accidentally came down too hard on the handle and as it did, the contents of the pan came flying at him with lightning speed. He barely had time to react apart from stretching out his other hand just before the impact.

But the impact never came.

He opened his eyes as he heard the pan clang to the floor loudly and its contents spilled everywhere. But even more alarming was the haze of blue he saw surrounding him. It was like how he imagined being in a cocoon would look, if that cocoon was light blue and see-throughish. It lasted only momentarily though, because the second he stopped to observe it the haze was gone, retracting almost instantly into his left hand with a snap. His palm tingled like with electricity and he stared down in stunned amazement, whatever that was, the eggs has just bounced off of it…

That was when he remembered Josi and looked up to see her staring at him like he'd never seen her before.

"What just happened?" she asked him.

He looked down at both of his hands, "I'm not sure myself."

An awkward silence followed and she just stared at him, waiting for him to say something, but he didn't know what to say. Instead, he bent down and picked up the pan, trying to grab the mushy pieces of egg now littering their previously pristine kitchen floor.

"Bryce, seriously, what the hell was that," she asked him, and he stood up in a huff.

"How the hell do I know Josi? Do I look like that's ever happened to me before?!?"

She flinched when he yelled but fired back quickly, "Well it's certainly the first time _I've_ seen it!"

"I don't even know what _it_ is!" he said, throwing the pan and its contents into the sink. "All I know is I woke up on a Sunday morning and tried to make my wife breakfast, then all of a sudden this happens," he spread out his hands to indicate the mess still on the floor, but all she could do was stare at his hands.

"Try it again," she said.

He looked up from the flecks of eggs still everywhere at his feet and asked, "What?"

"Try it again," she repeated, and stepped over towards him, "Just think about whatever you were thinking about before and try to do the same thing again."

The look he gave her was more incredulous than the time she said she wanted to be Amish when she was 12.

"You're not freaked out by what just happened?" he asked.

"Well, a little," she admitted, "But I still want to see it again."

He took a minute to think about it then slumped his shoulders in defeat, "Fine," he said, "But step back, I don't want you anywhere near me if this works."

She nodded and walked back over to the table, sitting down in front of her still uneaten waffles.

Now he stood there, looking like a fool as he spread out both his hands and tried to remember what he had done to make it happen in the first place. The eggs had slipped, he was about to get burned by the pan, so he just stuck out his hand…

A tingle in his right palm alerted him and he looked down to see what looked like a small quivering bolt of lightning momentarily before it fizzed out. Josi looked at him and smiled encouragingly. He tried again to imagine the eggs were flying at him, he tried to recreate the initial feeling of panic, but it didn't work and after a few tries even the little lightning charges stopped coming.

"I can't do it," he said, "I guess it has to be something unexpected, I can't just rely on one experience."

He looked at his hands again and she looked down at her unfinished breakfast. Just as he was about to give up and finish cleaning up the mess he heard her say, "Hey!" and out of the corner of his eye he saw a waffle come flying in his direction.

Instantly, without thinking he threw his arms in front of him and the forcefield he had made before blasted out of his hands to form a perfect orb around him. The waffle bounced off the forcefield and landed on the counter with a light thump.

As soon as he looked at Josi the orb disappeared and he stared at his hands in disbelief.

"What's wrong with me?" he asked her desperately, searching her face for some sign of revulsion.

She looked stunned, but she wasn't revolted or even really frightened by what she had just seen, it was just a lot to take in right now.

He slumped down against a cabinet and leaned his head against the wood. What was he going to do? What did this mean for him, for the both of them? She got up and came around the counter to sit down next to him, taking his hand in hers. It felt so wonderfully warm and safe, and real, unlike whatever this was he had just experienced.

Suddenly she gasped and he looked at her alarmed, "What is it?" he asked.

"Bryce don't you remember what they were talking about on the news last night, about rounding up people with special abilities, Bryce I think they meant people like you!"

His face paled and his heart felt like a vice had just been wrapped around it. "Like me?"

"Well maybe not exactly like you, but people that can do things like it. Maybe people that can do other amazing things no one really believes can happen. Maybe they can move things with their minds… or turn invisible… or even fly!"

"Now you're sounding crazy," he said, frowning down at his hands.

"Hey!" she said defensively, "An hour ago you didn't know you could project forcefields with your hands, so you're in no position to talk about what is or isn't possible."

His shoulders slumped in resignation of the fact that she was right. Repentant, she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and massaged his tense muscles. "It's okay," she whispered, "We'll get through this. We'll be fine."

He turned to her, "Do you think this has something to do with the eclipse?" he asked her suddenly.

She looked back at him surprised, "Well, that's an idea."

"So maybe this has happened to other people as well," he ventured hopefully.

Her face showed her skepticism, but he got to his feet instantly, "Let's check the news," he told her and sprinted to the living room. She followed close behind, trying not to get him too expectant. "You know even if other people have started doing things like this I don't think it would be out on the news this quick, if at all."

"Why's that?" he asked, his eyes already riveted to the screen as he flipped through the stations looking for something encouraging.

"Because," she said, sitting down next to him and sliding her arm into his, "Don't you remember those people with special abilities being _rounded up _and _shipped off somewhere_ on the news last night. I think anyone who discovers they have a power like this is going to keep very quiet about it."

He looked up at her, crestfallen as his last plan for preserving a sense of personal normalcy fell through.

"Bryce, it's okay, everything is going to be fine," she tried to pull him into a hug.

"How can you say that?!" he exploded. "We don't know what this means, what if it's dangerous, what if I can't control it?"

Her eyes widened but she covered it by saying, "I don't believe you would ever hurt me."

"Maybe not intentionally, but what if somehow word gets out about what I can do and someone comes to find me like those guys on TV? What if they come after you too just because you're my wife? Christ Josi what if we have kids and they come out like me?"

He buried his face in his hands, trying to will away those thoughts which told him this was the end of the world, but he felt her soft, warm hands rubbing his back.

"It's going to be fine," she whispered, "We'll get through this."

"You keep saying that but you don't know!" he exploded. How could she not see the danger he now presented to her?

Now her expression turned stern, "Bryce Howitzer," she demanded, "Do you think the minute some problem shows up I'm going to hightail it out of here and leave? Do you think I don't love you enough to stay regardless? Would you leave me if the situations were reversed?"

"It's different," he said defensively, "I'm supposed to protect you, even if you could do this I would still protect you, but now how can I do that with this hanging over our heads?"

"The last time I checked, that forcefield thing saved you from getting hit with flying projectiles, I think that's the very definition of protection."

"If I can control it," he interjected.

"If you can control it," she agreed, and looked at him meaningfully.

It took a minute for him to catch her meaning, "You want me to keep doing it?"

"There are still plenty of waffles left."

"You're not scared of me?"

She laughed, "Would I still be here trying to convince you I'm staying if I was planning otherwise?"

He shook his head in disbelief, "You really are something else, Josiane McDonald."

She kissed his cheek and pulled at his hands to make him get up, "That's Josiane McDonald _Howitzer_ to you, bucko."

Finally he smiled, "Okay, let's give this enough try then."

Her arm wrapped around his back as she led the way into the kitchen, "Let's."


	4. The Chase

_Sorry the Sylar chapters are so short. I'm planning on extending them a lot more once things are finally set into motion. Most of these other chapters have just be preliminary stuff. For those reading the whole thing thanks for hanging in there!_

It had been a disappointing day for Sylar. He had spent Monday and Tuesday staking out the house of a lonely grocery store manager who turned out to have nothing more than the ability to understand any language being spoken or even reading it on a written page. He took the power anyways, in retribution for the time he had wasted. The next day had been no better. Wednesday morning dawned on a cabin deep in the Colorado Rockies where he found a teenager who could boil water without even touching it. A worthless power to him, he had thought about killing him as well for wasting his time until he heard the boy's mother call him into dinner, "Gabriel, time to eat."

The boy had stood up from the stream where he had been nervously practicing his newfound talent if that's what you could call it, and without a single glance into the trees where his potential murderer was watching, the bandy-legged boy sprinted towards the log cabin like he'd never had the promise of food waiting before.

Sylar had decided to leave that one be. The Hunger was powerful, but less so when presented with something so clearly beneath him.

He looked at the last name on the list, Bryce Howitzer. It listed an address in LA, but once again, he had no idea what he would find. Some pimply adolescent boy who discovered he can morph into a chicken? He decided on his way to Los Angeles that even if this Bryce Howitzer had no extraordinary ability, his patience was at an end, especially after sparing the life of the tiring namesake in the Rockies. Then again, Gabriel was not his real name anymore, Sylar was. So why had he felt his heart soften at the mention of it and feel the gentle tug of mercy pulling on him?

Sylar shook his head at the thought. There was nothing good left in him, nothing of humanity remaining. There was only the insatiable need for more, more names, more abilities, more power. Even if this man didn't have something he needed, there would always be someone else out there who did. The only task was to find them.

_But, _he reminded himself, _First things first_. And he shape shifted into a wolf, coming back the same way he had come.

It was late when he arrived in LA. An electric billboard said it was somewhere past 4:00AM. It was hard for him to see with these wolf eyes, so he found an alley and transformed back, grateful for the cover of darkness and the convenience of clothes shifting with the person. It would be more work than he felt like right now to try and steal clothes.

Adjusting his jacket and smoothing his pants, he shoved his hands into his pockets and strolled out into the brightly lit streets of the LA nightlife.

Hookers lined the streets and tried to approach him, but he gave them such a look as to deter any of them from chasing him down. He enjoyed the look of fear in each of their eyes when he gave them such a look of obvious contempt and kept going. As much as he wouldn't object to some physical gratification, he was not about to acquire more abilities than anyone else and sully himself with a whore.

Meanwhile, crowds of drunken frat house boys stumbled out of overpriced bars and called down taxis which seemed hesitant to stop at this hour. Bag ladies and other homeless people passed him by, obvious almost as they peddled for spare change or screamed obscenities laced with Scripture.

It was still too early for him to find this Bryce Howitzer's house. He wanted the man's mind awake and alert when he watched for his ability. He would have to wait a little bit longer, and for the sake of Bryce Howitzer and anyone else around him, Sylar hoped that he had something he wanted, or else it could get very ugly indeed.


	5. The Beginning

_Okay, here's the chapter where the action finally starts. I've been planning this story forever so it was fun to finally write it out. I've tried to keep Sylar in character and hopefully you've come to like Josi and Bryce as much as I have, because I really do love both of them, but obviously, conflict is going to be a cornerstone in this story, as well as a love triangle. You've been warned ;)_

Thursday morning dawned on the Howitzer household much like any other weekday morning. The one exception was the faint bluish light Bryce managed to cast around himself, increasing its brightness until finally his wife said, "Enough, I'm getting up."

He smiled wide, ever since Sunday he had been working on this and after a few boxes of waffles followed by some fruit he had gotten pretty good. After awhile he got better at doing it without the threat of bodily harm by food and once he had even held onto Josi and found he could cast the shield around both of them. It appeared it had to be an equal circumference around him though, and he couldn't just throw his shield out to anyone or anything, so if he was going to protect someone they had to be within arm's reach, but that was enough for him.

"Now I'll always be able to keep you and any baby we have safe," he told her Wednesday night, and his eyes had held the hope of that promise. She had smiled leaned her head on his shoulder, still unsure of when that would be.

Unfortunately, he had become so good he was getting a bit cocky, and she did not like being woken by anything, especially her husband beaming some bright blue light at her.

"Ugh," she rolled over to face him as he stood at the bathroom sink, brushing his teeth and holding quivering lightning bolts in his hands, "Show off," she muttered under her breath.

When he was done he came out in his boxers and stretched in front of her, "Yeah, it's hard work being a superhero," he said with mock modesty.

She threw a pillow at him which he blocked easily and she sighed in defeat. She was never going to be able to get him back for things like she had before.

He hopped back on the bed and wrapped himself around her, "All those in favour of going in late today?" he asked.

"I."

Bryce turned suddenly towards the voice which had come from the doorway. A man stood there, tall and imposing. His hair was slicked back and his smile leered at both of them like a predator that knows it's far superior to its prey.

"Hello," he said, and when Josi made a move to throw a lamp at him he twitched his fingers and sent her flying across the room into the glass doors.

"No!" Bryce yelled, and she fell in a crumpled heap, groaning as she felt the pool of blood oozing from the back of her head. She was too far away for him to project the forcefield; the furthest he had done to date was only three feet around. He tried to go to her, but immediately he felt himself constricted, he couldn't move.

The leering smile widened, "I saw that trick you can do, very useful I must say. And here I was coming here expecting to be disappointed."

"Who are you?" Bryce gasped. His throat tight as if someone was holding him in a chokehold, "What do you want with me?"

"I should have thought that would be obvious," Sylar almost purred, "I want that ability."

"No!" Josi screamed from where she was still lying maimed on the floor, "Take me, kill me instead."

Sylar laughed, "No, you see I'm afraid it doesn't work that way sweetheart, I kill him, I get his power, I kill you, I get an enemy with something I don't have. Not a very fair trade."

Her wide eyes watched him in such a way that made him uncomfortable, he didn't like to see them for some reason, they reminded him of someone. He turned away and faced back to her husband. "Now where were we?"

"Stop!" Josi screamed, and somehow got to her feet fast enough to launch herself at him.

"Josi, no!" Bryce yelled but it was too late. Sylar was unprepared for such a diversion, but without thinking twice about it he threw her against the glass door so hard that it shattered. They both heard the sickening crack of more than just glass. Josi never even had time to scream.

"NOOOO," he roared and tried to launch himself at this man, wanting to hurt him, to make him pay before he killed him. He tried to transmit the forcefield around himself but it wouldn't come, the lock on his throat tightened and he felt the effects of the oxygen being denied to his brain. Bryce tried to thrash against the stranglehold while Sylar watched on in amusement, he always enjoyed the final moments of watching them squirm before the inevitable occurred.

Josi's bloody heap on the floor did not stir and for the first time in his life, Bryce felt what it was like to wish for death. What did it matter now whether this intruder killed him or not?

"Who are you?" he asked feebly, "Did you come to lock me up?"

"What good would you do me locked up with the rest of those guinea pigs?" he said sarcastically, "The people running that operation want to control abilities, I want to _harness_ them."

"Fine then, take it, kill me," after all, wasn't developing this ability what had brought him to their house, what had led to Josi lying there now, bleeding to death?

Sylar smiled, "Best thing you've said since I got here," and as he raised his fingers to make the incision a faint noise distracted him. They both looked over to where it was coming from as Josi's body began to almost glow. Her body still lying half in half out of the doorway in an awkward angle, the glowing intensified, but in a golden hue, almost like a small flame. Brighter and brighter it became until her body lifted from its place a few feet off the ground, wrapping itself in the fetal position.

It was unlike anything they had ever seen, and Bryce and Sylar watched in awe as her balled up form was surrounded by a golden orb with fire that seemed to flame within, touching her but never burning. It almost looked as though she was asleep, and curled up around herself like a baby in the womb. Slowly, the orb began to spin. Around and around the orb turned with her inside until it finally contracted within itself, shrinking minutely before it exploded.

*****

Both men stared dumbfounded down at where Josi lay, naked with her arms wrapped around her knees like they had been in the orb. Her hair matted to her face as if she had just emerged from a bath, and all the cuts and scratches from the glass were gone. She was beautiful, and from the look of things, she was alive.

Sylar was so dumbfounded at what had happened that he lost concentration on holding Bryce. It didn't matter though, the minute her husband realized he was free he ran to her side and bent over her, "Josi, baby? Can you hear me?"

She didn't stir and Bryce turned to look at Sylar, "What did you _do_ to her?!?" he yelled.

He kept his temper in perfect control. "You mean you didn't know she could do that?"

"Well how would I? _I've_ never killed my wife before!"

Sylar stepped over, "I didn't do anything, well, apart from killing her obviously. Whatever just happened she did all on her own."

Bryce stared up at him with such hatred that Sylar could see what he was about to do next, but just then Josi groaned.

Immediately forgetting the danger standing behind him, Bryce reached down and stroked her face, "Josi? Josi?"

Her eyes opened slightly and she looked at him with such a strange gaze that he was instantly afraid. He had spent the last four years of his life staring into those eyes day after day, and there was something there this time which was clearly out of the norm.

"Who are you?" she asked.

His mouth hung open in disbelief as Sylar cleared his throat behind him.

"Who's that?"she asked innocently, almost like a child meeting strangers for the first time.

Bryce turned to look at Sylar but he was watching her with almost an unmatched hunger. Here was one power worthy of being taken. To be reborn after death was a power no one would notice until the crucial moment, even Claire's cellular regeneration didn't compare. Who knew? Maybe even a wound to the back of the head wouldn't kill her.

His eyes trailed along her naked body, perfectly formed and sculpted, it would be such a shame to waste a second time. He hadn't seen this much of her before…

"Don't you dare look at her!" Bryce yelled at this monster standing in his bedroom, and he reached to grab a sheet and throw it over her, but Sylar rolled his eyes as he sent him flying into the bathroom and slammed the door behind him. Whatever power he had was clearly miniscule on scale with his wife's.

She looked up at him, obviously frightened like an animal that knows it's been cornered. Those wide eyes that made him uncomfortable watched him warily for a sign that he was about to hurt her. Distrustful, good, she should be. If she remembered what he had just done she certainly would be. But there was always the chance she was pretending…

"Who are you?" he asked her directly.

Her face looked confused, "I-I don't know," she admitted. He felt no reverberations in his psyche, so he knew she was telling the truth.

"How old are you?"

Again she looked confused, but this time on the edge of distraught, "I don't know," her voice broke and she hugged her knees tighter.

This would be too easy, simple like taking candy from a baby. But she just lay there with those sad, wide eyes, looking to him as if he was the only one who had answers. But she was too innocent, it didn't feel right. Ever since Molly Walker he had not tried to kill children, it was one line he tried not to cross. The boy in the Rockies had been different, he was almost a man, he had chores, and responsibilities, Sylar had seen all that in watching him. But to kill someone almost as innocent as an infant wasn't something he could do. Dammit! Why couldn't she have been reborn with her memories intact and her anger at him burning? It would be so much easier to do the job then!

"Do you know who I am?" she asked tentatively, trying to sit up without letting him see anything more than he had.

He smiled at her modesty, like a child that's never known what it is to grow comfortable with their nakedness. She was perfect, innocent, _pure_. He might take her ability later, but for now he couldn't do it, but he couldn't leave her here with her husband either, who knew what he might remind her of? Still, if her memories came back, and she had a reason to hate him again, he would have a reason to kill her, so it only made sense to keep her around, at least for now. Besides, it had been useful having Maya and then Elle around for those brief periods.

With a twitch of his finger the door to the closet flew open. "Find some clothes to put on," he told her with an attempt at sounding gentle. It seemed to work, she started to obey but then looked at him shyly, "Could you turn around please?" she asked.

He complied although he certainly wouldn't have minded watching, but now was the time to earn her trust, much like he had with Maya. He would earn her trust, and if he didn't decide to take her power, well, he was sure he could find another use for her…

Her bare feet plodded into the closet and searched around curiously, not even recognizing the place she had gotten dressed everyday of her life the last two years. She peeked into drawers and found scandalous looking underwear which she sifted through until she found something that covered both butt cheeks, then she grabbed a green bra and put that on.

Sylar was waiting out in the bedroom impatiently when he remembered her husband trapped in the bathroom. Judging by the lack of yelling and banging on the door, Bryce must still be unconscious, but he didn't trust that as a permanent solution.

The Hunger told him to go ahead and take the man's ability while his wife was busy. But that would be messy, and require an explanation as well as having the potential to backfire if she walked in on him. No, it was better to keep him out of sight.

Stealing across the room with a quick glance into the closet where she stood transfixed in front of rows of clothes, he unlocked the bathroom door and stepped inside.

Bryce was lying on the floor with his head and one arm slung over the rim of the bathtub. A trickle of blood had run down his forehead but he was clearly breathing and not seriously hurt. Sylar regretted coming all this way for his ability only to have to leave without it, especially one so promising, but even more promising was the one inside his wife.

Sylar left him in there, shutting the door behind him and melting the knob with his hands as he did. Josi emerged from the closet moments later wearing some jean gauchos and a strappy red tank top. He had to admit, Bryce Howitzer had certainly done well for himself.

"C'mon," he said, holding out his hand to her like her would to a toddler, and hastened down the stairs, his superior hearing already picking up the sounds of sirens in the distance. He wasn't sure where they would go, but he knew taking her too close to Denko would be a threat to his interests, although somehow he'd never seen her name on the list, and she would have been beside her husband if she was deemed capable of having an ability. How strange.

"Where are we going?" she asked, her hand felt foreign in his own.

"Somewhere safe," he told her, "For now."

As he walked out the front door and saw Bryce's Suburban in the driveway, he turned to her to ask if she knew where the keys were, but remembered she would have no idea.

"Wait here," he told her, and left her out in the bright sunlight as he walked back in the house and stood in the foyer. He twitched his fingers, and a set of keys came flying out from the kitchen where they had been sitting on the table. The cold metal in his hands felt impersonal, it reminded him that business was business, and right now it may be convenient to keep this girl around, but she was expendable, like everyone else in his life. He had no allegiance to anyone.

Gripping the keys tightly in his hands, he heard the first sounds of Bryce banging on the door upstairs and trying to get out, and he smiled as he strolled outside and led Josi to the car.


	6. The Explanation

Josi was still feeling dazed. She had no memories of anything prior to waking up naked in a strange house with two strange men. Vaguely, she remembered the first one but he had disappeared so quickly that she'd almost forgotten what he looked like by now.

The other man, the one who was driving the car now, he said his name was Sylar. It was an unusual name, at least to her, although she couldn't even remember her own name right now so she wasn't one to talk. Sylar told she had hit her head very hard and that's why she didn't remember anything. He failed to explain why she had woken up naked without a scratch on her, but she wasn't asking too many questions of this guy while he was driving with such a determined look on his face.

The backdrop of the city gradually faded away as he followed the freeway into more unfamiliar territory, was she supposed to recognize any of this?

"Where are we going?" she asked again, surveying the cliffs and canyons with awe.

"Do you always ask so many questions?" he responded irritably.

She gave him an accusing look, "How should I know what I always do? I don't even know my own name."

He fixed his eyes ahead of him on the road, she had a point. He was just unused to having people with him since that Luke kid. He had been very annoying, but the verdict was still out on whether or not she would be as bothersome as him.

Her eyes followed the road as it flowed beneath them. For an instant he felt as if he should make conversation in order to make her more at ease, but immediately he reminded himself that he didn't owe her anything. He had spared her life, which was more than a lot of people could say; anything past this was just extra uncharacteristic mercy.

Which he was still unsure he possessed.

A light tingling in his fingers itched to reach out and take her power now. _No!_ he told himself, _She's like a baby in this state, you must wait until she has passed the boundaries of innocence before you consider taking it from her! She's so unaware, so trusting; even you can't be that much of a monster_. A part of him believed that he was, but that part was submerged, at least temporarily as he saw her hands fiddling with the radio controls.

"What does this do?" she wondered aloud before pushing the power button. Immediately the car was filled with the screeches of hard rock from some thrasher band Bryce listened to when Josi wasn't in the car with him. Even in this state, she hated the sound and covered her ears, digging her heels into the floorboard with the effort of blocking it out.

Severely startled by the sudden noise, something very unusual for him, Sylar slammed on the brakes so hard that the Suburban came to a screeching halt, leaving deep skid marks on the road and the smell of burning rubber in his nose. Once the car was stopped he furiously hit the power button with his hand, to which the music shut off.

Josi relaxed her stressed pose only a fraction of a second before he was on her about it.

"You little fool! Why the hell can't you just sit there and leave things alone?"

He expected her to fight back, to show some of the bravado she had in the house this morning before he had killed her, but instead he saw her eyes water before she turned her head to the window and burst into tears.

Sylar leaned against the steering wheel and massaged his forehead with his left hand, trying to make sense of how to deal with this. It was such a fine line to walk, remembering that she was an innocent and remembering the glimpses of the woman he had seen this morning for only a brief amount of time. In many ways he would rather have that woman sitting beside him right now instead of this one.

_Except if she was the girl from this morning you would kill her, remember?_ His mind threw that back in his face and he shook his head before turning to her. Both her hands covered her face which she still had facing the door away from him.

Sylar looked behind him and saw no one for miles, nor did he hear any cars within a 10-mile radius. They had time for her to pull herself together, but time wasn't something he was used to allotting, especially not for things like emotionally fragile women.

"Stop that!" he said in an effort to at least make her quieter, but that only made her cry more and draw her knees up to her chest, again the very picture of a child.

He thought about responding with threats, with telling her if she didn't shut up he was going to leave her here to be food for coyotes, it was the type of thing his surrogate father had said if his adopted son had ever misbehaved when they went into Manhattan to get some new timepieces for the shop. But suddenly he had a surge of familiarity with the feelings he thought she must be going through. He remembered vividly the day he had come home to the apartment in Queens to find his mother sitting on the floor in front of the kitchen sink, clutching her chest in devastation when she realized her husband had gone for good. When he had finally made good on his promise to leave him.

So when Sylar reached out his arm to the wailing women seated next to him and gently touched her shoulder, even he was surprised.

Initially, she flinched at the contact, perhaps expecting a blow from him like he had expected from his father. But he patted her shoulder in a feeble attempt at comforting her and said in a much gentler voice, "It's okay, I won't yell anymore. Please stop crying."

It took her a minute, but the sobbing got progressively softer until finally she was able to wipe away the last of the tears and lean her head against the window dejectedly.

"Hey," he said, using his very best charismatic voice to try and charm her into feeling better, "Look over here."

She didn't at first, and he was tempted to turn her head for her with one move of his finger, but instead he tried again, "P-_Please_ look over here," the word had been hard enough to say the first time, and the second was next to impossible. He was used to giving orders, or taking what he wanted, but this was an entirely new level. Even though she was like a child, he'd never had much experience with other adults once he became a man, let alone children.

The P-word seemed to be what did it for her though, and when she turned those red-rimmed eyes on him for the first time in many months he felt something like remorse. He shouldn't have been so harsh, what did she know about radios now anyways?

"It's okay," he told her, his hand still awkwardly placed on her shoulder, only she didn't seem to realize how awkward it was. Like all humans before they discover what it is to feel embarrassment, she seemed to accept this situation as natural. She didn't have the instincts about people that most learned by a certain age, she didn't look at him like he was a monster. Her eyes watched his face for something but he couldn't tell what. It felt as though she were sizing him up as to whether she could trust him, although the thought occurred to him that she really didn't have a choice…

Before Sylar knew what was happening she leaned forward to him and buried her face in his chest, beginning the sob fest all over again.

He raised his arms above his sides, looking around as if expecting help but finding no one. If there was a thing he knew less about than stopping someone from crying he had yet to discover it. Slowly, he lowered his arms down to pat her back softly, trying not to rest his arms there as he did.

"Shh," he said, "I won't yell again, I shouldn't have yelled the first time. Everything is okay."

He refused point-blank to say he was sorry, choosing each word with care. The truth was he did feel a bit sorry, but even he didn't recognize it, the emotion had become so foreign to him now.

She sniffled as she answered, her breath hot against his chest, "I'm so confused" she wailed, "Who am I? Who are you?"

After a deep breath, he gently pushed her shoulders back so he could meet her eyes and work his magic the way he had with Maya. This would require a bit more work though, still, it shouldn't be too hard to make her trust him as she had.

"Your name is Josi, and I am Sylar. I'm taking care of you for now."

She sniffled again, "Why?"

"Because…" he paused, "Because you are very special Josi, very special, and I need you for something."

Her eyes narrowed, looking confused. "Need me for something? Like what?" Her voice sounded the very picture of a curious child.

There was no helping his smile as he made the comparison mentally, "With a very special adventure we're going on, and you're the only one who can help me," he told her in mock excitement.

This made her eyes seem to brighten, "What kind of adventure?"

He had to think fast, "A secret kind," he whispered conspiratorially. Now she pulled back at him, no longer frightened or crying. She looked happy, eager even to get back on the way to wherever they were going.

"Okay," she smiled, and folded her hands in her lap like a little girl just learning how to behave like a lady, "I'm ready."

Sylar's grin was genuine as he reached over and pulled her seat belt down, "You need to wear these always," he told her as he pulled it over her shoulder and fastened it for her.

"Whoa, that's cool," she marveled, pushing the button to undo it so she could push it back in herself, "Where did you learn that?"

"A little trick my parents taught me. It keeps you safe if someone hits us."

"But there's no one else in the car."

"No, like if another car hits us."

"But there's no one on the road."

He groaned, the cuteness was wearing off again. "Josi, on secret missions, the mission leader, that's me, needs a lot of time to think without any noise, so I'll need you to be quiet for me while we get to where we're going, okay?"

"Okay," she agreed instantly, eager to please, and made a motion like she was zipping her lips.

As Sylar put the car back in drive to start them back on the road the thought occurred to him that she remembered more than she thought.

Not even five minutes down the road she was tapping an erratic beat on the window and asked him, "Are we there yet?"

This was going to be a long trip.


End file.
